CARS.COM - Less than a month after federal regulators announced a massive expansion of Takata airbag inflator recalls, the affected pool of cars has become a lot clearer. Automakers this week announced 12 million new Takata recalls in 12 separate campaigns, with affected cars as wide ranging as the Nissan Versa and the Ferrari 458 Italia. But many of these cars were already under previous Takata recalls, complicating matters in an ongoing safety crisis that regulators have linked to 10 deaths in the U.S. and more than 100 injuries worldwide.
Related: Is Your Car Part of the Takata Airbag Recall?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has pushed to make all inflator recalls national in scope, but it's conducting the latest expansion "in a phased approach" among three zones based on humidity, the agency told Cars.com today.
- Zone A (high humidity) is Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan) and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Zone B (moderate humidity) is Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
- Zone C (low humidity) is Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington state, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Experts link the crisis to high absolute humidity, which can lead to moisture buildup over time in Takata inflators and cause them to rupture when the airbag deploys.
Here's the breakdown of this week's recalls; all are for front passenger-side Takata airbag inflators.
Ferrari
Ferrari will recall the following cars, but NHTSA did not specify geographic zones:
- 2010-2011 Ferrari 458 Italia coupes built from March 5, 2010, to July 29, 2011
- 2009-2011 Ferrari California convertibles built from Feb. 16, 2009, to July 8, 2011
Dates of manufacture by month are printed on a sticker in the driver's door jamb.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
All three zones:
- 2005-2008 Chrysler 300
- 2007-2008 Chrysler Aspen
- 2008 Dodge Challenger
- 2006-2008 Dodge Charger
- 2005-2008 Dodge Dakota
- 2004-2008 Dodge Durango
- 2005-2008 Dodge Magnum
- 2007-2008 Jeep Wrangler
- 2005-2008 Ram 2500
- 2006-2008 Ram 3500
- 2007-2008 Ram 3500 Chassis Cab
- 2008 Ram 4500/5500 Chassis Cab
- 2008 Sterling 4500/5500 Chassis Cab
Zones A and B:
- 2009 Chrysler 300
- 2009 Chrysler Aspen
- 2009 Dodge Challenger
- 2009 Dodge Charger
- 2009 Dodge Dakota
- 2009 Dodge Durango
- 2009 Jeep Wrangler
- 2004-2008 Ram 1500
- 2009 Ram 2500
- 2009 Ram 3500
- 2009 Ram 3500 Chassis Cab
- 2009 Ram 4500/5500 Chassis Cab
- 2009 Sterling 4500/5500 Chassis Cab
Zone A only:
- 2010-2012 Chrysler 300
- 2010-2012 Dodge Challenger
- 2010-2012 Dodge Charger
- 2010-2011 Dodge Dakota
- 2010-2012 Jeep Wrangler
- 2010 Ram 3500 Chassis Cab
- 2010 Ram 4500/5500 Chassis Cab
Honda
All three zones:
- 2003-2004 Acura MDX
- 2003-2004 Honda Element
- 2002-2004 Honda Odyssey
- 2003-2004 Honda Pilot
Zones A and B:
- 2005-2006 Acura MDX
- 2005-2008 Acura RL
- 2008 Honda Accord
- 2006-2008 Honda Civic, including Civic Hybrid and Civic GX (natural gas)
- 2005-2008 Honda CR-V
- 2005-2008 Honda Element
- 2007-2008 Honda Fit
- 2005-2008 Honda Pilot
- 2006-2008 Honda Ridgeline
Zone A only:
- 2009-2011 Acura RL
- 2009-2011 Acura TSX
- 2011 Acura TSX Sport Wagon
- 2010-2011 Acura ZDX
- 2009-2011 Honda Accord
- 2010-2011 Honda Accord Crosstour
- 2009-2011 Honda Civic, including Civic Hybrid and Civic CX (natural gas)
- 2009-2011 Honda CR-V
- 2009-2011 Honda Element
- 2010-2011 Honda FCX Clarity
- 2009-2011 Honda Fit
- 2010-2011 Honda Insight
- 2009-2011 Honda Pilot
- 2009-2011 Honda Ridgeline
Mazda
All three zones:
- 2003-2004 Mazda6
- 2004 Mazda MPV
- 2004 Mazda RX-8
Zones A and B:
- 2005-2008 Mazda6
- 2007-2008 Mazda CX-7
- 2007-2008 Mazda CX-9
- 2005-2006 Mazda MPV
- 2005-2008 Mazda RX-8
Zone A only:
- 2009-2011 Mazda6
- 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed6
- 2009-2011 Mazda CX-7
- 2009-2011 Mazda CX-9
- 2009-2011 Mazda RX-8
Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi will recall the following cars, though NHTSA did not specify geographic regions:
- 2006-2007 Lancer sedans, including the Lancer Evolution, built from June 29, 2005, to June 19, 2007
Dates of manufacture by month are printed on a sticker in the driver's door jamb.
In addition, FCA is recalling the Mitsubishi Raider pickup truck, a corporate sibling to the Dodge Dakota, for the 2006-2008 model years in all three zones. FCA is recalling the Raider for the 2009 model year in zones A and B only.
Nissan
All three zones:
- 2003-2004 Infiniti I
Zones A and B:
- 2005-2008 Infiniti FX
- 2006-2008 Infiniti M
- 2007-2008 Nissan Versa
Zone A only:
- 2009-2010 Infiniti M
- 2009-2011 Nissan Versa
Subaru
All three zones:
- 2003-2004 Subaru Baja
- 2003-2004 Subaru Legacy
- 2003-2004 Subaru Outback
Zones A and B:
- 2005-2006 Subaru Baja
- 2006-2008 Subaru Impreza
- 2006-2008 Subaru Tribeca
- 2006 Saab 9-2X (related to Impreza)
Zone A only:
- 2009-2011 Subaru Forester
- 2009-2011 Subaru Impreza
- 2009-2011 Subaru Legacy
- 2009-2011 Subaru Outback
- 2009-2011 Subaru Tribeca
Toyota
Zones A and B:
- 2007-2008 Lexus ES
- 2008 Lexus IS F
- 2006-2008 Lexus IS sedan
- 2008 Scion xB
- 2007-2008 Toyota Yaris
Zone A only:
- 2009-2011 Lexus ES
- 2010-2011 Lexus GX
- 2010-2011 Lexus IS convertible
- 2009-2011 Lexus IS F
- 2009-2011 Lexus IS sedan
- 2009-2011 Scion xB
- 2010-2011 Toyota 4Runner
- 2009-2011 Toyota Corolla
- 2009-2011 Toyota Matrix
- 2011 Toyota Sienna
- 2009-2011 Toyota Yaris
- 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe (corporate twin to the Toyota Matrix)
Toyota did not issue any recalls for Zone C, but it already recalled 1.58 million cars earlier this week in accordance with NHTSA's May 4 expansion. Many of the cars above overlap with that list.
Weren't These Cars Already Recalled?
Many of these cars were already under previous Takata recalls. Documents posted by NHTSA indicate that some recalls cover cars not previously recalled, while others supersede prior recalls, including cars with already completed repairs. Indeed, Honda said today that about half of its 4.5 million Honda and Acura cars under this week's expansion were already involved in an earlier Takata recall, and some cars with prior repairs for the driver-side airbag inflator will now require an additional recall for the passenger-side inflator.
"A lot of these have already been recalled because the vast majority of the recall before May 4 - the 29 million [inflators] - were for driver-side airbags," NHTSA communications director Bryan Thomas explained. "The vast majority of these new ones are passenger side."
That means many owners are going to get a new notice to have their Takata inflator replaced, but for a different airbag.
Still, many cars already have had a passenger-side Takata inflator recall. The Subaru Legacy, Outback and Baja, for example, are under a passenger-side recall that overlaps a previous Subaru recall for Takata inflators on all three models. Michael McHale, a Subaru spokesman, told us NHTSA's additions clarify regional differences, but that means there are many duplicate listings - a situation McHale called "confusing for people."
Documents posted by NHTSA say Subaru's campaign covers cars not recalled in prior campaigns. This week's expansion doesn't duplicate anything, Thomas said.
"These are, in fact, new recalls," Thomas told us. "The passenger-side recalls that were done before this month were never comprehensive. It was some models of Takata inflators, and now we're capturing all the non-desiccated frontal airbag inflators. What makes this really complicated is that even within one make-model-year-type vehicle, you may have more than one type of inflator."
That's even before geography comes into play. In NHTSA's phased approach, Zone A includes model-year 2011 or older cars. Zone B has model-year 2008 or older cars, while Zone C has 2004 or older cars.
It won't stay that way, however. Earlier model years "may only be under immediate recall in Zone A, and would be subject to recall in Zones B and C at a later date" according to the schedule laid out to Takata, NHTSA said.
Vehicle identification numbers identified in this week's recall may not be immediately available in NHTSA's VIN lookup tool, the agency added.
This isn't the end, either.
"The filings posted today do not represent all the filings that NHTSA expects pertaining to this recall expansion," the agency said. "We anticipate posting more of the OEM DIRs [defect information reports, a part of the recall process] next week."
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